Lawsuit challenges location of Escondido water plant

The Springs of Escondido, a retirement home adjacent to a vacant lot at Washington Avenue and Ash Street, is suing Escondido over its plans to build a recycled water treatment plant next door.

The Springs of Escondido, a retirement home adjacent to a vacant lot at Washington Avenue and Ash Street, is suing Escondido over its plans to build a recycled water treatment plant next door. (J. Harry Jones)

A lawsuit challenging the Escondido City Council’s decision last month to allow a large recycled water treatment plant to be built in the middle of the city was filed Friday in Vista Superior Court.

The suit was filed by The Springs of Escondido, a retirement home adjacent to a 4.5-acre city-owned property at the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and Ash Street where the plant would be built.

The city says the plant is critical to Escondido’s future water needs and the Ash Street site is the only suitable place for it to be built.

Attorney Everett DeLano, representing the Springs, argues in the lawsuit that the plant is unsuitable for a residential and commercial area.

“It’s inappropriate for the neighborhood,” DeLano said. “It’s inconsistent with the General Plan and the Municipal Code. It has numerous impacts that weren’t adequately analysed. It’s going to have an negative impact on the community and the residents nearby.”

The plant will desalinate recycled water that has already been partially treated, then send it through pipes to eastern and northern Escondido to be used primarily to irrigate farmland. Further desalination is necessary for it to be used on crops, especially avocado trees.

As things stand now, most of the city’s partially treated water is dumped into the ocean via an outfall pipe that is nearing capacity. Unless more water can be diverted from the outfall, the pipe will have to be replaced at a cost of $500 million. That cost would likely double because of all the environmental problems and permitting that would be needed.

About 100 senior citizens live in the Springs. During various public hearings, they and other nearby residents complained that an industrial plant in the middle of homes and businesses would hurt the character of the area and fail to bring help to the economy of the neighborhood.

The retirement home residents said they also feared the construction noise and the chemicals used to treat the water would worsen their already declining health.

City Attorney Jeff Epp on Friday said the city was not surprised by the lawsuit but could not comment because of the litigation.

During the council meeting only Councilwoman Olga Diaz voted against the plant. She said a better location should be found and predicted lawsuits would delay construction indefinitely thereby delaying recycled water delivery to farmers who have been asking for it for years.